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184 HISTORY OF DEXTAL SURGERY
avoiding tautology, it would be well to have s_ynonyms, and that for "occlud-
ing" surface the word "masticating" might be interchangeable.
Dr. W. X. Morrison, of St. Louis, directed attention to the fact that Dr.
Homer -huld, nf St. Louis, and Dr. M. S. Dean, of Chicago, in a mono-
graph on •'Terminology,'" established the use of the words "mesial" and "dis-
tal,'" which had been extensively employed in St. Louis and Chicago.
A committee on dental nomenclature of the Liternational Dental Con-
gress held during the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in 1893, to
whom it was suggested that "they should present a plan by which a iini-
versal system of nomenclature may be adopted that would be acceptable to
the profession of the entire world,'' made a very comprehensive report, which
was adopted. Theirs was not a light task. The work accomplished by this
committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. G. A'. Black, deserves a promi-
nent place among the tablets that mark the professional growth of the den-
tists' vocation.
The dental profession has thuf5 laid its foundation for the establish-
ment of a universal language in the expressions and names of things pe-
culiarly applying to it. In this report occurs the following:
"The same author has habitually used several names applied to the same
thing to the utter confusion of any but widely read and skillful readers.
Some time ago, while reading a Journal in the French language, your re-
porter found five distinct names applied to the same thing in a single para-
graph of eighteen lines. This evil is not confined to one language, the
same thing occurs in the English and in the German. In general literature
it may often l)e recorded as in good taste to vary the expression used when
dealing with matters of sense and the finer expression of sense impressions,
or in the scenic descriptions. But in science or scientific writing, where ex-
ecution is the chief end sought, a single name for a single object should be
the rule. It is the function of legislation upon the subject of nomenclature
to confine a single name to a single thing, and to induce every person writing
of that tiling to use that name only."
The scheme suggested was
First: The plan of nomenclature shall be the same in the several languages.
Second: Use worfls ileriveil from the Latin or Greek whenever such words are
available; making use of the root, and giving it such prominence as may be suited to
the language in which it is employed.
Third: When for any purpose a word from the Latin or Greek is not available,
agree upon a word from another language and use in the .same way.
Fourth: When it is impracticable to use the same word in the several languages,
184 HISTORY OF DEXTAL SURGERY
avoiding tautology, it would be well to have s_ynonyms, and that for "occlud-
ing" surface the word "masticating" might be interchangeable.
Dr. W. X. Morrison, of St. Louis, directed attention to the fact that Dr.
Homer -huld, nf St. Louis, and Dr. M. S. Dean, of Chicago, in a mono-
graph on •'Terminology,'" established the use of the words "mesial" and "dis-
tal,'" which had been extensively employed in St. Louis and Chicago.
A committee on dental nomenclature of the Liternational Dental Con-
gress held during the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, in 1893, to
whom it was suggested that "they should present a plan by which a iini-
versal system of nomenclature may be adopted that would be acceptable to
the profession of the entire world,'' made a very comprehensive report, which
was adopted. Theirs was not a light task. The work accomplished by this
committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. G. A'. Black, deserves a promi-
nent place among the tablets that mark the professional growth of the den-
tists' vocation.
The dental profession has thuf5 laid its foundation for the establish-
ment of a universal language in the expressions and names of things pe-
culiarly applying to it. In this report occurs the following:
"The same author has habitually used several names applied to the same
thing to the utter confusion of any but widely read and skillful readers.
Some time ago, while reading a Journal in the French language, your re-
porter found five distinct names applied to the same thing in a single para-
graph of eighteen lines. This evil is not confined to one language, the
same thing occurs in the English and in the German. In general literature
it may often l)e recorded as in good taste to vary the expression used when
dealing with matters of sense and the finer expression of sense impressions,
or in the scenic descriptions. But in science or scientific writing, where ex-
ecution is the chief end sought, a single name for a single object should be
the rule. It is the function of legislation upon the subject of nomenclature
to confine a single name to a single thing, and to induce every person writing
of that tiling to use that name only."
The scheme suggested was
First: The plan of nomenclature shall be the same in the several languages.
Second: Use worfls ileriveil from the Latin or Greek whenever such words are
available; making use of the root, and giving it such prominence as may be suited to
the language in which it is employed.
Third: When for any purpose a word from the Latin or Greek is not available,
agree upon a word from another language and use in the .same way.
Fourth: When it is impracticable to use the same word in the several languages,
